Shepherd the Flock of God

5 So I exhort the elders among you, ^(A)as a fellow elder and ^(B)a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ^2 (C)shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,^{[a] (D)}not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;^{[b] (E)}not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

¹⁷ Obey ^(A)your leaders and submit to them, ^(B)for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to ^(C)give an account. ^(D)Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹¹ For ^(A)I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^(B)by each other's faith, both yours and mine.

⁹ I wrote to you in my letter ^(A)not to associate with sexually immoral people— ^10 (B)not at all meaning ^(C)the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, ^(D)since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone ^(E)who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging ^(F)outsiders? ^(G)Is it not those inside the church^[a] whom you are to judge? ¹³ God judges^[b] those outside. ^(H)“Purge the evil person from among you.”

¹⁹ Now ^(A)the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^(B)divisions,

Bear One Another's Burdens

6 Brothers,^{[a] (A)}if anyone is caught in any transgression, ^(B)you who are spiritual should restore him in ^(C)a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ^2 (D)Bear one another's burdens, and ^(E)so fulfill ^(F)the law of Christ.

¹³ The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(A)the people come to me to inquire of God; ^16 (B)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I ^(C)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” ¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. ^(D)You are not able to do it alone. ¹⁹ Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^(E)represent the people before God and ^(F)bring their cases to God, ²⁰ and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^(G)the way in which they must walk and ^(H)what they must do. ²¹ Moreover, look for ^(I)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²² And ^(J)let them judge the people at all times. ^(K)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^(L)bear the burden with you.

⁴ No soldier ^(A)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from ^(A)the living God. ¹³ But ^(B)exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by ^(C)the deceitfulness of sin.